Delivery Day and NICU, One Week Update

I can't believe one week has come and gone and my sweet babies are a week old tomorrow. Thinking back to this time last week, it almost seems like an eternity ago and life without my four children doesn't make sense. My c-section was scheduled for last Thursday morning at 8:15 and I was supposed to be at the hospital at 6:15am for prep. God definitely has a sense of humor because one of the last things I told my husband about getting there that early was at least we didn't have to worry about traffic. As soon as we got on 65-S that morning, traffic was at a stand still going absolutely no where. Quickly checking the traffic report at 5:30am, we found out there has unfortunately been a fatal accident shutting down the interstate. It did put things into perspective though. Here we are going to the hospital hoping to bring life into the world and sadly two people had lost theirs an hour before. We did make it to the hospital 45 minutes late, but they couldn't start without me. :) Once at the hospital, in an ironic twist of fate, we also learned that someone was supposed to have called me the night before and told me to be at the hospital at 4am because they had changed the time of my section to 7am. My poor doctor had been there since then and no one had called to tell me of the change. Regardless of the circumstances or the time, nerves set in as they began to prep me. The nurses tried to keep the mood very light hearted to keep me calm and I did good until they rolled me into the operating room. My whole body was shaking so hard, partly because of nerves and partly because of the epideral. There were a total of 20 people in the room with Michael and I, 23 once the babies came into the world. Once they started, things happened very quickly. Ethan and Gabe were born at 8:29am and Caroline was born at 8:30. Ethan weighed 5 pounds 10 oz 19 in long; Gabe weighed 4 pounds 5 oz.15 in long, and Caroline weighed 5 pounds 5 oz. 18 inches long. They let us get pictures and then Michael and the team of doctors and nurses went to the NICU. It took the doctors about another hour or so before they were finished with me and rolled me to my room. I was up and going to the see the babies by 2:00 that afternoon. The babies have made quick progress in their one week here. Everyday it gets harder and harder to leave them in the NICU as I see their great progress, but I know they are in good hands and am SO VERY thankful for the wonderful NICU nurses who love my babies when I am not there to. Caroline and Ethan are in isolettes which is a step up from an open bed. They get to wear onsies now which makes things look better to me. Caroline is bottle feeding 30 cc's with no problem and came off her oxygen yesterday. So far she is tolerating breathing on her own well. Ethan's breathing is still a bit rapid in the 70-80 range and they want it in the 60's before they allow him to bottle feed. For now he has an OG tube and is tolerating 30 cc's per feeding. Mr. Gabe is now in a crib and doing fantastic. He passed his car seat test and if all goes well he may get to come home as early as Saturday!! We have to spend the night in the NICU family room to assure the staff we can take care of him on our own. We anticipate Caroline to follow closely behind and if Ethan can slow down his respirations, for him to progress quickly too. I can not tell you how often I thank God for His miracles and His grace. The doctors and nurses can not tell me how well the babies are doing and how well I did during my pregnancy. I know that I did my part by staying in bed and having a wonderful husband to take care of me, but how long those babies stayed in place had everything to do with God answering prayers and continuing to answer prayers with the progress in all three babies. We are beyond blessed and have more to be thankful for than we ever imagined. What an amazing journey it has been and we are just so excited for the sleepless nights, screaming babies, and endless wonderful memories that are to come with our four children. Once Gabe comes home we are being told by the doctors that visitors will have to continue to be strictly limited. Overstimulation in a new environment can be harmful and casue a preemie to decline, as well as exposure to outside germs. The last thing we want is to get home and then have to take a baby back to the NICU. I know many are anxious to meet our three new additions and we ask for your continued to patience as we give our babies time to grow and develop physically and mentally. We will post pictures and give updates as often as we can. We love everyone and appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes.

Last Post As a Family of Three....

It has been a very busy week with doctor appointments. Monday we went to UAB for a growth scan to double check the babies' measurements. After my appointment today, I'm a little confused about which one is measuring what, because the report shows the weights for Ethan and Caroline, flipped from what we were told. Monday we were told that Caroline is measuring 6 pounds 6 oz.; Ethan measuring 5 pounds 8 oz.; and Gabe measuring 4 pounds. All fluids looked good and blood flow to placentas looked good as well. I left feeling blessed and a little worried about my Gabe being smaller, but the doctor said this was normal and did not seem to be worried. Tuesday we had an appointment with my doctor. Everyone looked good on NST and I was not dilated. We went over a few details about the rest of the week and next week. She wanted to see me back today, Friday, and Monday to check the babies fluids (especially Gabe's) to make sure they stay within normal limits. She said if they were low she would take them on that day, otherwise we would schedule for Thursday the 18th. We did not check fluids Tuesday because apparently there was a fire in the office on Monday caused by the ultra sound gel warmer catching on fire. The whole office was evacuated and closed for a couple of days. Needless to say, very glad we weren't there for our "normal" Monday appointment. :) Today was our last appointment for the week. I know it seems like nothing to most people, but three appointments in one week has about killed me. My legs are refusing to want to walk, but I refuse to use a wheel chair. A few people have called me stubborn, but that's just me. If I can walk, I will walk. The appointment today was good. During NST they had to give me a coke to wake the babies up, but once the coke kicked in, the babies looked great. We then went for ultra sound upstairs (where they are no longer allowed to use gel warmers, ha) and checked the babies' fluids. As the tech read the report today from UAB, they had Ethan listed as measuring 6 pounds 6 oz. and Caroline mesuring 5 pounds 8oz....so who knows which is which. Ethan and Caroline's fluid measured 13 and Gabe's was the lowest at 7. The tech said 5 and above is normal, so Gabe is on the lower side of normal, but the doctor was ok with his fluid. So what now?? Monday I go back for more of the same as today. My C-section is scheduled for first thing Thursday morning. She expects my surgery to take about an hour with an array of doctors, nurses, and a neonatologist (Dr. from the NICU). No major changes from my last C-section other than taking longer. The main concern is too much bleeding from me due to carrying three babies, but the doctor will be monitoring that pretty closely. The babies will be taken straight to NICU for observation and determine how well they are functioning. So, all we can say is here we go. :) After reading many women's experiences from being pregnant with triplets, I am so humbled and thankful that God has allowed this pregnancy to go this far. A lot of women have a lot more difficult and challenging pregnancies that result in micropreemies and complications. I don't have answers as to why God allows one thing for some and something different for others, but we are counting my blessings every day. My prayer now is to deliver three healthy babies and we can come home as a healthy family of six. I have gotten a lot of questions about visiting. Right now we just don't have answers. I am very certain that Thursday will be difficult emotionally and physically and we are not sure what situation we will encounter with babies in the NICU. Parents will be allowed in the NICU and one person from the family accompanied by the parent will be allowed. While 35 weeks is great, they are still premature and too much stimulation is not good for the babies. This means too much touching from too many different hands; too many different sounds or voices; etc. There is also the exposure to germs that will need to be limited. This is why visiting the babies at the hospital and once we get home will have to monitored closely. Again, once we know more in this area, we will share. We are excited to meet the babies and to let others to meet them as the babies' conditions allow. Our focus from here to next Thursday is having 30 fingers and 30 toes present and accounted for (40 if you count Tripp...that's a lot of digits!). We are very excited, nervous, and anxious. I'm not sure if we will have time for another post before they arrive. We will let everyone know as soon as possible about how we are all doing. Pray with us for God's will to be done in all things and that we will continue to put our faith in Him. Love!!

And D-Day is......

We are now in the middle of our 33rd week. I have had two doctor appointments this week and both have gone really well. A growth ultra sound on Monday showed that the babies weighed between 4 1/2 and close to 5 pounds each which is really exciting. Caroline is still head up. The other two decided to get cute and confuse everyone. Last week Gabe was head down in the middle and Ethan was head up on the side. Well this week the one in the middle is head up and the one on the side is head down. Either both boys flipped 180 degrees or Gabe went under Ethan and they switched sides. There is really no way to know for sure. So, now we don't know who is who in there. :) I guess we will just figure it out when they get here. I am continuing to contract which is not much fun (as any woman will tell you). However, I am not dilated at all which is pretty amazing considering how far I am. My blood pressure was up slightly on Monday but I'm pretty sure that is because she took it during a contraction. :) It was much lower today, so that is good news. Dr. Christine continues to be pleased with the babies and how they are doing overall and on the NST. She wants me to go back to UAB on Monday for one last growth scan. UAB's equipment is a bit more accurate in their measurements than St. Vincent's. She is hoping to get a clear look at what the babies are weighing just to double check everything before delivery. If everything goes as planned and my body and babies cooperate, the c-section is scheduled from two weeks from today which is Thursday April 18th. I will be 35 1/2 weeks along at that point. This would definitely be really exciting for us because I never anticipated that I could/would make it as far as I have, especially at home. I am so thankful to the Lord for His hand being on us this pregnancy. No matter the outcome, I know all things have been done and will continue to be done in His time. At the moment life at our house is good but a little chaotic. We are down to the wire and Michael is working hard to get everything done. However, I'm beginning to realize that no amount of preparation is going to be enough for what is to come. :) Some things we will just have to figure out along the way. My body is hanging in there. It is difficult to do much of anything. I am definitely front heavy and I can tell the babies are growing. I was walking through the living room the other day and sneezed. My sneeze literally propelled me into a run because of the extra weight in the front. You can't help but laugh. We have been talking and thinking a lot about our hospital stay and everything that will come with it. This C-section will be a bit more involved because there are three babies. The recovery for this will be longer and more difficult than my first. I can only imagine I am going to be an emotional, hormonal basket case with everything that will be happening. Because there will be so many unknowns, we will have a couple hour window set aside for visitors. We will obviously give more details as we know more. Please keep in mind, that there is a chance you will only get to see Michael or one of our moms. While we have no idea what the babies' conditions will be, there is a good possibility they will be in NICU and visitors will be limited to immediate family only. If you are trying to get in touch with us or do try in the future, please know how much we appreciate your love and concern, but that it may take some time to return calls, messages, etc. :) There are truly no words to express everyone's love and support and our hearts continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness of others. Your continued prayers are appreciated more than you realize and have kept us going throughout this process. We look forward to things to come!!!